View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain DealerMonsters defenseman Travis Gawryletz, left, fights for the puck in a game against the Toronto Marlies at The Q.Defenseman Travis Gawryletz, who opened the season in the ECHL, has been one of the Monsters' biggest contributors since being promoted in late November.

Gawryletz has three assists and a plus-8 rating in 18 games. He signed a professional tryout contract with Lake Erie after playing 16 games with the Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals.

"I wouldn't call him a surprise because we'd gotten good reports on him, but he's certainly given us a calming influence back there," Monsters coach David Quinn said. "He does a lot of things well. He's been very consistent."

Gawryletz, 24, is in his second pro season out of Minnesota-Duluth. He moves about the ice like a veteran.

"Travis competes, and he's poised with the puck," Quinn said. "He's physical. All of it stems from solid fundamentals."

Listed at 6-2, 200, Gawryletz plays even bigger. He dishes out punishment but is not reckless, as evidenced by 14 penalty minutes.

"You don't have to rack up penalty minutes, you don't have to fight, to be a tough player," Quinn said. "He's hard to play against. He makes the opponent uncomfortable. When he's on the ice, we don't spend a lot of time in our zone. The opponent doesn't have the puck that long."

When signing a player to a professional tryout contract (PTO), an American Hockey League club has a 25-game window in which to evaluate. It can terminate the PTO at any point, re-sign the player to another PTO or sign him to a pro contract.

Quinn said it is safe to assume Gawryletz will be around for at least another 25 games.

Meat grinder: The Monsters play six games in nine days -- all on the road -- beginning tonight against Hamilton. They face Rochester on Saturday before returning to Hamilton for games on Monday and Wednesday. They visit Abbotsford, Jan. 15-16.

The club will not return to Cleveland at any point during the trip. The stretch of consecutive road games is tied for second longest on the Lake Erie schedule. The Monsters play seven straight away from The Q, March 3-13. They have another six-game swing, March 26-April 3.

"Everything we do away from the rink is going to play a role in the type of success we're going to have on it," Quinn said. "It starts with eating right and getting the proper amount of rest. You can't afford to take those two aspects for granted."

Hamilton, Rochester and Abbotsford are in front of the Monsters in the Western Conference's North Division. Hamilton leads the seven-team division with 53 points. Rochester is tied for second with 46 and Abbotsford is fourth with 41. The Monsters are tied with Toronto for sixth with 36 points.

"The guys don't need to be told how important these games are," Quinn said. "We have an opportunity to gain a lot of ground in a hurry. At the same time, you can't play six games at once."

On the morning of Dec. 13, it did not appear any of the six would be worth much for Lake Erie beyond the development of each player's skill set. The previous night, Lake Erie had lost to Chicago to fall to 8-16-0-3.

View full sizeDarren HaydarThe Monsters rebounded to beat Chicago that day, the commencement of an 8-2-0-1 run.

Haydar update: Right winger Darren Haydar (ankle) practiced this week and told Quinn he felt good, but his status remains uncertain. Haydar, who leads the Monsters with 16 goals and 35 points, has missed the past two games. He is listed as day to day.

"This week was encouraging, but you're not going to know for sure until you test it in game conditions," Quinn said.

Finally: Defenseman Brett Skinner has been playing well in recent weeks. He was a "healthy scratch" for two games earlier in the season.

"I give him all the credit in the world," Quinn said. "He's made a big commitment to conditioning. He's working very hard off the ice, and it's translated into better performance."

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